Supporting local communities in the development of their handicraft marketing and value chain strategy

As part of our project Community Resilience and biodiversity conservation in Nakai District, Lao PDR, Association Anoulak team has been working with villagers from Nakai – Nam Theun National Park with the objectives to:

• Support the local communities in implementing innovative and sustainable approaches to bring alternative incomes and to preserve local traditional craftsmanship and cultural integrity.
• Reduce reliance on natural resources in Nakai-Nam Theun National Park to contribute to biodiversity conservation in the region

To achieve this, Association Anoulak is focusing on village-level marketing and value chain strategy of native Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) and the management of their use by local communities in Nakai – Nam Theun National Park.

This year 2021, our team alongside villagers have progressed significantly (despite the challenges faced amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, which involves strict restrictions in Laos).

Through our monthly Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning missions to target villages to follow up the implementation of the village action plans (developed by the villagers last year), we were able to:

• Discuss about the alternative income from handicraft production
• Design the products based on villagers’ experience and market demand
• Set a product supply production management including quality control
• Conduct a training on crafting skills from elder villagers to the younger generation
• Purchasing directly from the villagers the handicraft made

In March 2021, our team facilitated a training during which the elder generation trained the younger generation on traditional crafting skills.

Participants in the crafting skills training March 2021

In addition, this year 2021 Association Anoulak has been developing a marketing strategy including:

• The design of the label for all project’s handicraft products
• The conception of a dedicated Facebook page ‘Thaphaiban new normal crafting’ to promote the project and manage online sales of handicraft products
• Finding markets for handicraft products in Khammouan province (Dakdea shop, Nayawai traders, Phosy Thalang Guesthouse and ecotourism tours, other tourist sites…)
• Promote the project with the design of a leaflet in Lao-English language which will be distributed widely in the country
• Design and set-up the Nakai handicraft shop at Association Anoulak’s project office and display handicraft products to sale to visitors